Mombasa Swahili
The historical Swahili variety of Mombasa and the Kenyan coast. The classical literary Swahili of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Standard Swahili
Also known as: Kiswahili Sanifu
The Tanzania-based literary and educational standard of Swahili. Modelled on the Zanzibari Kiunguja variety; Tanzania's national language and a continental lingua franca.
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Frequently asked questions
What language is Standard Swahili?
Standard Swahili is a dialect of the Swahili language.
Where is Standard Swahili spoken?
Standard Swahili is primarily spoken in Tanzania.
Which region is Standard Swahili associated with?
Standard Swahili is part of the East & Southern Africa region on DialectAtlas.
Is Standard Swahili known by other names?
Yes — Standard Swahili is also referred to as Kiswahili Sanifu.
What are the other dialects of Swahili?
Swahili also includes Kimvita, Congo Swahili, Sheng. Each variety has its own vocabulary, pronunciation, and cultural context.
Other Swahili dialects
See on the atlas →Kingwana
The Swahili used as a lingua franca across eastern DR Congo. A simplified contact variety, structurally divergent from the East African standard.
The youth vernacular of urban Kenya, especially Nairobi. A code-mixed register drawing on Swahili, English, and various Kenyan languages.
Nearby dialects
See on the atlas →310 km away
The historical Swahili variety of Mombasa and the Kenyan coast. The classical literary Swahili of the 18th and 19th centuries.
561 km away
A click-language isolate spoken by the Hadza hunter-gatherers around Lake Eyasi in northern Tanzania. Fewer than 1,000 speakers; no demonstrated genetic relationship to any other language.
625 km away
A Bantu language of south-eastern Kenya, closely related to Kikuyu. Around 4 million speakers across Machakos, Kitui, and Makueni counties.
667 km away
The youth vernacular of urban Kenya, especially Nairobi. A code-mixed register drawing on Swahili, English, and various Kenyan languages.
703 km away
A Bantu language cluster of the Comoros archipelago and Mayotte, closely related to Swahili. Four mutually intelligible varieties, one per major island; around 1 million speakers.
736 km away
A Nilotic language spoken by the Maasai people across southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. Closely related to Samburu and Camus within the Maa cluster.